Exclusive: US offer Iran olive branch

The United States Olympic Committee, the free world's wealthiest national sports body, has negotiated with its Iranian counterpart for a ground-breaking exchange of coaching, training facilities and sports technology.

Further exchanges are planned with Syria, Afghanistan and Lebanon in the attempt to repair, at least at a sporting level, America's rock-bottom credibility in the Islamic world.

The move has clear parallels with President Richard Nixon's use of 'ping pong diplomacy' to open dialogue with communist China in 1971, when the US table tennis team accepted an invitation to play in Beijing.

Yesterday's ideological breakthrough with Iran, a bridge between arch political rivals, was cemented here with confirmation from Iran's Olympic Committee for two squads, from weightlifting and water polo, to visit the United States in August and September.

Robert Fasulo, head of international relations for USOC, met Iranian officials, respective president and general secretary Reza Gharakhanlou and Ali Kafashian, at last week's general assembly of the Olympic Council of Asia in Kuwait. "America's international relations has fallen so low," Fasulo says, "that we want to do something to restore harmonious relations at least in the cultural field. It is hoped this move will improve our standing within the Muslim world."

The US initiative has senior level approval from Karen Hughes, head of diplomacy at the State Department for International Cultural Affairs.

Bahram Afsharzadeh, president of Iran's weightlifting federation, confirmed yesterday that a squad will visit USOC's Colorado Springs headquarters in August. Iran's junior water polo team will compete in the world junior championships in California in August.

Additionally, Mohammad Anwar Jekdalek, president of Afghan's National Olympic Committee, has provisionally agreed to similar exchanges. "Sport is the universal religion that can step onto ground often impossible in politics," said Dragomir Cioroslan, strategic negotiator for USOC.

James Scheer, USOC's general secretary and former Olympic wrestler, is hoping to go to Teheran for signing of the deal. The intention is to establish several training camps in the US where Iranian competitors, and others from the Middle East, can prepare for the 2012 games in London.

Peter Ueberroth, former visionary leader of the Los Angeles Olympic Games of 1984 and president of USOC, believes the initiative is a small first step in re-establishing American global credibility.

USOC's plan comes as no surprise with Ueberroth at the helm. It was his foresight, employing 'envoys' within the Los Angles organising committee, each speaking a language of a particular foreign country, that enabled him to head off much of Soviet led boycott in 1984, notably China and Romania.

He sent respected representatives to doubting nations to reassure them on admission and security. The new Iran deal is characteristic of a man who might well have become president of the International Olympic Committee. His vision should place Chicago in the front line for the 2016 campaign, to be decided at the IOC congress in Copenhagen in 2009.

Cioroslan, currently vice president of the International Weightlifting Federation, was one of those on the Romanian Olympic Committee on the receiving end of Ueberroth's safety-mission 23 years ago. "This present initiative is a comparable action by Ueberroth, and we hope to bring on board a number of the Muslim countries, taking advantage of our facilities and technical know-how."